This invention relates to a sweetening agent having an improved sucrose-like flavor, a dry product made therefrom, a method of producing it and the use thereof.
For dietary or medical purposes, synthetic sweeteners of low nutritional value are increasingly being used instead of sugar to reduce the intake of calories. Apart from saccharin and cyclamate, which have been known for a long time, aspartame (L-aspartyl-Lphenylaline methyl ester) and acesulfame K (potassium salt of 6-methyl-1,2,3-oxathiazine-4(3H)-one-2,2-dioxide) are the only other synthetic sweeteners of importance. In contrast to sugar substitutes such as fructose, xylite, sorbitol and mannitol, they have no energy source and therefore have been used increasingly in low-calorie food.
An important criterion of these sweeteners is their sweetening power which in comparison with sucrose is substantially greater. Saccharins and cyclamates, however, have the disadvantage that they leave a bitter aftertaste in the mouth. Although aspartame tastes very good, it has limited stability. Acesulfame K is not quite as sweet as aspartame, but has a longer shelf life.
As described in German Patent 25 60 544, attempts have been made to eliminate these disadvantageous properties by mixing sweeteners with each other. Mixtures of sweeteners are especially used because the sweet flavor is often synergistically increased thereby so that in comparison with pure sweeteners a certain amount of sweetener can be saved.
Another reason for using mixtures of sweeteners is that some of the known sweeteners develop their sweetness on the tongue very late whilst others develop a sweet taste very early, with the latter, however, also disappearing very soon. This disadvantage can be largely offset by admixing sweeteners of shorter and longer lasting sweetness or also through mixing with natural sugars, if desired.
A method of improving the flavor of acesulfame K in household preparations is known from German patent application 33 31 517 wherein prior to use, acesulfame K is evenly mixed with other substances and used in the form of this mixture. Amino acids or mixtures of amino acids, preferably glycine and glutamic acid or monosodium glutamate, are used for mixing.
Furthermore, German Patent 25 60 544 and German patent application 25 56 109 disclose sweetened foodstuffs and modified sweeteners respectively which contain aspartame, optionally mixed with saccharin, a cyclamate or sucrose, as well as aluminum potassium sulfate and/or naringine naringenine-5-rhamnosido glucoside as flavor modifiers in amounts effective to modify the lasting sweet aftertaste of the above-mentioned sweetener.
German patent application 34 222 247 discloses a method of preparing a carrier for sweeteners wherein a special monosaccharide or disaccharide is reacted with an aqueous sucrose solution to form a gluco-oligosaccharide mixture.
Japanese Patent 59-154-956 discloses a sweetening agent consisting of acesulfame K and fructose.
Hence, all sweetener mixtures that have so far been known relate to mixtures of synthetic sweeteners of defined chemical compounds.
German patent application 12 55 467 discloses a method of producing a colorless sweetening agent by comminuting pomaceous fruit, heating the mash, separating, cleaning and concentrating the juice.
German patent application 24 56 926 relates to a sweetener preparation which contains aspartame as the synthetic sweetener enclosed in a matrix forming material. So-called "fusion agents", which may also be juice crystals, are used as the matrix forming material. However, a sweetening agent having an improved sucrose-like flavor is not obtained.
It is desirable that especially the sucrose likeness of the flavor of sweetener mixtures be further improved because the sweet flavor of sucrose has become the standard against which the sweetness of all sweeteners is judged.